


Leverage, Season 1, Episode 9, The Snow Job

by TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer



Category: Leverage
Genre: Analysis, Episode Review, Episode: s01e09 The Snow Job, Meta, Nonfiction, Season/Series 01, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24331552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer
Summary: Warning: Contains spoilers for the episode and the rest of the series. Complete.
Kudos: 5





	Leverage, Season 1, Episode 9, The Snow Job

Open to a wife and husband with a little boy having their house foreclosed. The husband attacks the man who used shady business dealing to have his house seized, and even though I’m not glad he was arrested, given they’re black, I am glad he didn’t end up severely beaten or, worse, shot in front of his little boy and wife.

Actually, I’m also really glad the little boy and wife didn’t end up shot. I guess the rich white men being there might have been a deterrent for the cops using excessive force lest it hurt said rich white men.

On a different note, Danny Strong, Jonathon from BtVS, plays the old rich guy’s youngest son, and in some ways, his character here is worse than Jonathon, but Strong does just as great with this role as he did on BtVS.

Next, Nate is talking to the man in jail. He’s a veteran, he and his family made it through Hurricane Katrina, and when they were able to buy a house, he hired the rich white men to do contract work on the house, and the men used shady but legal methods to steal it from him.

He asks if Nate has any kids.

“I did.”

The man offers his sympathy, and the two actors do great in this scene.

There’s a heartbreaking flashback of Nate screaming when Sam codes.

At headquarters, everyone’s wondering where Nate is. It’s revealed Parker had fortune cookies for breakfast, and foodie chef Eliot is appalled, but Hardison simply shows genuine interest in learning more about her.

Wearing sunglasses, Nate shows up, and Sophie isn’t happy with his hungover state. Hardison expands on what the rich men did, and exposition is given on the old white man’s two sons: The oldest is a vapid playboy, and Strong’s character is an intelligent but slimy businessman.

Over in Aspen, Vapid Playboy is fooled into thinking Sophie is an athlete of some kind, and someone in, I think, Germany is not happy with Hardison’s Photoshop work. And I think Eliot might be stirring his drink with his finger.

In the bar, Nate’s drinking, and Sophie’s disapproving. Nate leaves, and VP comes over to talk to Sophie. She easily reels him in to agreeing to buy-in with a story of her and her partners planning to renovation the resort.

Eliot goes into an office to talk to someone, and on a stopped lift with some man, Parker hangs from it. At Nate’s prodding, she monotones, “Help. Help.” The man looks down, and she casually inquires, “How ya doing?” Hee.

In the office, Eliot’s giving a presentation, but the man has to leave when he gets a call about Parker.

Eliot sets up the office to look like him, and I hope I’m not supposed to know who the woman with him in the picture he sets up is, because, I don’t. Sophie comes in with VP, and giving Eliot a bear hug, VP picks him up.

VP is impressed, but it turns out: His dad will need to be the one who writes the check, not him.

In Miami, OWG is happy to see VP. Outside, Eliot and Parker are conspicuously sneaking around ninja style with listening equipment, and Nate and Hardison are in a car. Inside, VP gives the pitch to OWG.

Strong’s character comes down, and he’s clearly the unfavoured son.

There’s interference with the equipment that Hardison can’t fix from the car. So, Eliot throws Parker up to climb onto the second floor.

Inside, Sophie’s charming Strong’s character, and mission accomplished for Parker, she jumps out a window. Eliot tries to catch her, but it turns out: She didn’t expect him to in the first place.

Meanwhile, Strong’s character isn’t suspicious of Sophie, but he can’t believe she wants to do business with his idiot brother. He shows her some of the stupid plans VP has had in the past, and I don’t know, a submarine cruise might be neat.

It’s revealed Strong’s character was the one who came up with the idea of stealing people’s houses with slimy but legal methods.

Realising a lot more than their client has been royally screwed, Nate decides without consulting Team Leverage to up the con. Sophie goes along with it, but the others are all mad until Hardison discovers the house is bugged by law enforcement.

Later, Team Leverage is gathered in a room, and Nate talks them around to going with his new plan.

The next scene has Sophie and Strong’s character meeting with Nate. He buys insurance policies from dying people, and they get a chunk of money to enjoy the rest of their life with, and he gets the payout post-mortem.

It’s possible I don’t completely understand this, but if I do: I can see how vulnerable people could get screwed over by this, but I could also see how it might be a genuinely good deal for some people. If a person doesn’t have any dependents counting on a payout and they just want to live out their final days in comfort and maybe a little bit of luxury, then, no one gets hurt by this.

Strong’s character is hesitant, but Nate and Sophie convince him to give it a chance. He calls VP, and VP isn’t happy Sophie’s doing this instead of his idea.

Later, Nate is drinking while driving. Ugh.

He’s stopped, and protagonist or not, I hope he gets arrested.

Not so much, though. The state police want him to help entrap OWG, and the policeman isn’t above some police brutality. Then, he ups and leaves the drunk man to drive off. Ugh.

In a hospital, Parker is playing a woman with a brain tumour. Since she doesn’t have a brain tumour, though- However, Eliot has an idea, and when everyone looks at him, “What? I dated a neurologist!”

Everyone gets ready, and the man sitting next to Nate in the waiting room likely has him pegged for a schizophrenic. Sophie helps tie Parker’s gown and tries to help Parker prepare for playing deathly ill. Nate and Sophie meet Strong’s character and a pretty doctor, and Eliot and Hardison do rock-paper-scissors to decide who has to stick a needle in a corpse. Eliot wins, and Hardison unhappily sticks the needle in, thankfully, off-screen.

According to the doctor, Parker is definitely dying.

Next, poly trio hangs out with the corpse, and Sophie and Nate continue trying to convince the still reluctant Strong’s character.

There’s a hilarious bit where Parker’s about to throwdown on Nate for writing a big cheque to Strong’s character, and Eliot literally grabs and carries her away before Strong can see this.

Back in temporary headquarters, everyone is on edge with Nate, especially given his drinking. Sophie sends the poly trio away so that she can talk to their dad and dad-in-law.

However, he flat out tells her they definitely aren’t adopting Parker and accepting Hardison and Eliot as their sons-in-law.

“Is this helping you,” she asks.

They both acknowledge the Nate she once knew isn’t the same person as this Nate.

The next day, Strong’s character agrees to buy into Nate and Sophie’s business, OWG and VP try to stop him, and in doing so, they give the state police what they want.

At the bank, Strong’s character realises how badly the OWG and VP have screwed up, and he outright attacks his brother.

Then, the three are at home, and it turns out VP screwed up even worse than what they thought. OWG is arrested. Nate calls Strong’s character to taunt him. Everyone the family screwed over will get their homes back, and the family’s home is going to be foreclosed to be given to the client of the week.

At the end, Sophie warns, if Nate doesn’t shape up, he’s not going to get his daughter and sons-in-law or her. “Give me a reason to stay.”

Fin.


End file.
